Not to understand when people go to eat out and order...

[DogCalledRudis]

Beans on toast.

In our neighbourhood a new cafe opened. They have a wonderful menu and Italian chef. People come for beans on toast when they can have Eggs Benedict. Ok, thats not to everybody's taste but beans on toast? Really?

How odd. Does it confuddle you if someone goes to a cafe and orders a cup of tea?

Why is the Italian chef relevant? There are some godawful Italian cafes out there.

Years ago my Dad regularly used to to order Beans on Toast for lunch in a Little Chef while he was out working. One day he went & found it had been taken off the menu

There was, however, toast available, also beans as an extra to have with sausages or something.

He had to argue with the waitress to get the side order of beans served with the toast, preferably with the beans on top

One of the things that I found the strangest food wise in the UK - is that you cannot order extra garlic for a pizza... Well we couldn't so maybe we were eating at the wrong pizza places..

In my mind, pizza isn't a pizza without garlic .

The only way around my very bizarre request was to order a garlic pizza bread, with toppings .......

This was about 15 years ago I admit, but I still have a giggle about it.

(I should add that no matter where you would go to eat here, you will always have a side dish of fresh chillies,fresh crushed garlic and parmesan cheese).

We have a lovely cafe in town, I quite often have beans on toast in preference to eggs benedict. They do make their own beans though, so counts as 'naice' as far as I'm concerned.

I hope they're on hand-crafted sourdough toast?

Obviously ....

Maybe beans on toast is the best vegan option?

Where do you live murphys???? I would love chilli, garlic and cheese with every meal!

I sometimes have beans on toast in a cafe when I'm hungover and can't be arsed to do it myself at home

Sometimes when I'm hungover all I can face is beans on toast. I quite often have that for breakfast when at the breakfast buffet at a hotel.

It might well be the only vegan option.

My brother used to run a gastro cafe and he refused to served baked beans. To be honest, I think it would have been better if he had as a lot of people just wanted to order something simple to eat if they were out and about.

Having said that, I am with you on your main point, that is that seems to strange to pay over the odds for a meal you can mace in five minutes at home for a fraction of the price.

Jo, I am in South Africa. I thought it was the norm to have the side dishes everywhere... .

It's beans on toast, staring at a different set of walls than their own, with none of the washing up.

I kind see you point OP, I do tend to order stuff I would never arse to make at home, like eggs benedict or faffy vegetarian stuff or seafood.

Italian chef, eh? Wow. Must be good.

I occasionally have coffee/tea and toast in a cafe. In a pretentious hipster coffee place I get some chunky sourdough and fancy jam. In a greasy spoon I get two rounds of Mother's Pride and butter in tiny packs.

I count them both as a treat because I haven't had to make them myself and get to sit and read the paper while someone else works the toaster and brings it all to me.

Oh and I agree, sometimes pretentious home-made 'rustic' baked beans are just what the doctor ordered. And sometimes Heinz are. And if someone else has made them and I don't have to wash up after, all the better.

gastro cafe

Completely and utterly irrational but I can't eat in gastro cafés or gastro pubs. The name alone reminds me of gastroenteritis. M&S have/had a gastro range too and I can't look at that either.

TeamScotland - I'm like that about the word 'cottage' because it reminds me of cottage cheese and I hate cottage cheese! I call my tiny dwelling a 'house' because I can't bear to call it a 'cottage'! People probably think I'm pretentious...

I see your point OP (and have no idea why some responses are so snippy) but it's the kind of thing we all do. I remember my aunt being amazed that people would queue up in shops and delis at lunchtime to buy a sandwich to take back to the office and pay several times the cost of making one in your own kitchen. She just couldn't understand why they wouldn't just bring one in from home

I must be a pretentious, judgemental twat too, OP, because I think the same thing!

YABU. If the chef doesn't want to heat up beans, they should take them off the 'wonderful menu.' (Bizarre)

In my old workplace we had a machine that did freshly ground coffee bean coffee, that was gorgeous. You could put together your own latte in the kitchen easily. All this was free. People still went upstairs to the costa cafe to buy coffees, that weren't as good, at a couple of quid a pop. That I seriously couldn't understand.

I don't think the OP is pretentious and judgemental

But "customer orders beans on toast in cafe" is hardly a shocker is it?

So I'd say the OP is (tries to be kind) a little short sighted perhaps?

Maybe their home kitchen is mid refurb, oe they're homeless and being put up by council in bnb, or in bnb for work, our they're on limited budget, or have dietary restrictions, or it's an anniversary of a passed loved one and they're carrying out a ritual in memory, or quite simply because they like beans on toast?

People watching and imagining their back stories can be interesting ??